Keep Your Faith, Raise Your Lively Face
by TheOneFlamingWaffels
Summary: RyukoXMako. Oneshot. Contains lots of cursing. Nothing too special, just an average day after the events of Kill la Kill, while Ryuko and Mako are on their second date? (Maybe?) Rated M for foul language.


"Put your damn heart into it!" Ryuko screamed, sending what almost was like a shock-wave down her clothes as she struck down with all of her might onto her opponent's bamboo sword. Neither one withstood the force of impact, her own breaking in half along with the other. Her opponent, Mako, stumbled and fell onto her hind, the sound of her pain echoing through the empty building.

"Owwwww, Ryuko! That REALLY hurt..!" she said, pouting for a moment before rubbing her hind quarters. Ryuko began to speak, to make amends, but was interrupted as Mako burst from the ground, spinning upward in a fashion that made her short, grey skirt twirl. She faced her punk rock friend with a smile, dusting off her beige sweater.

"It's okay, Ryuko! I totally forgive you!" she yelled, flashing an even bigger, toothy smile. Ryuko flashed one in return, looking a bit suprised as Mako approached her.

"Can we go again? Can we?" She asked, beaming despite her rather quick defeat. Ryuko didn't give any objection. After all, how could she say no to that face?

"Why are you doin' this anyway?" the punk rock girl asked as she walked over to the right wall, which still held four more of the bamboo swords, grabbing two more. "I mean, before all of this, you weren't exactly the fightin' type. You still 'aint."

Mako caught a sword as it was thrown at her, jumping happily. "Well, I just thought it would be cool to learn how to fight like you, Ryuko!" she said, spinning her sword and doing a kung-fu stance. Ryuko shook her head, chucking. That was Mako for you. She didn't have any particular ambition, but when she wanted to do something, she did it.

"Can I at least ask why?"

"Well that's easy! I need to learn how to protect myself, silly!" the cheerful brunette responded.

"From what? We're in a totally tame school now. And besides, anyone who wants to deal with you'll have to go through me." Ryuko said firmly, smirking and pointing to herself.

"Well, yeah, I know but..." Mako mumbled, seeming less enthused now, lowering her weapon, a pouting expression on her face.

"Never drop your guard in combat!" Ryuko yelled, running up to her and lightly hitting her on the head. Mako squeaked as she did. "No fair! I TOTALLY wasn't ready!" she yelled, looking up at her black haired friend.

Ryuko let out a laugh, gazing down at her. "Man, I'd love to keep this up with ya, but I'm pretty damn hungry. Wanna grab a bite?"

Mako gasped, perking up with starry eyes and a grin engulfing the entire lower half of her face as she raised her arms into the air, a spotlight shining on her.

"Are you asking me on a second date?!" She yelled, skipping in place. "No way, no way! I'm not ready for this either! I don't have any cash, cuz I didn't bring my wallet! I left it at home, in my pants, under my futon, with my other important stuff! How are we gonna pay for food with no money?! We'll be kicked out and banned from any resturaunts if we do, and-"

Ryuko let Mako ramble on. She wasn't one for interrupting one of her "Halleluja Moments." In fact, it seemed a general rule of thumb between most everyone to let her say what she had to say at these times. If anyone objected, she'd give 'em hell for it.

"-and if we can't pay off the mafia they'll kill us and hide our bodies! But you wouldn't let that happen, right Ryuko? 'Cuz you can fight! So I need to learn to fight too, so I can fight the mafia with you!" Mako finished, posing in front of her, panting from the needless jogging she did the entire rant.

"Jeez, how'd that lead you back to learning how to fight?" she asked jokingly, opening the door to the small building they were in, revealing the bustling, blue city they now took residence in.

"Don't worry Mako, I've got money."

* * *

"These burgers are so good!" Mako yelled, chowing into her rather tall and fat order, across the table of a shabby burger restaurant from Ryuko, who was dining on the same thing, but less rapidly. She took a few bites of her sandwich, gazing out into the sky, where the final battle had taken place. She looked out with some sense of sadness at her lost friend. It was still hard without him to talk to, and every night she found herself staring at her current set of clothes, wishing they could embody the friend she once had.

"Ryuko!" Mako yelled, snapping her out of thought. The girl turned from her gaze and stared at the hyperactive being before her.

"What is it?" she asked, taking another bite of her meal. Mako pouted, looking almost worriedly at her. "C'mon, Ryuko, I know it's hard to lose him, but you can't stay down in the dumps forever about it!"

She sighed. Sometimes Mako could be so perceptive.

"I know, Mako. It's just hard not to think about him." she mumbled, resting her cheek in her palm. Her friend sat up straight, a determined look on her face.

"I know! I'll make you feel better Ryuko!" She yelled, pulling a guitar from under the table.

"Where the hell did you get that thing?" the punk rock girl asked, glancing up and down at the underside of the table.

"Who cares?" Mako said, strumming it rather clearly. "I'm gonna play you a song!"

"A song? Why?"

"It'll cheer you up! I know the perfect one! I wrote it myself. Or.. maybe I heard it on the radio. I can't remember!"

Ryuko smirked. "You can't remember if you wrote it or not?"

"Nope!" Mako said, smiling, "But I'll still play it!"

Ryuko was about to object, but her fit didn't last long. She let Mako make a fool of both of them. She didn't really mind, anyway. She didn't care what other people thought, and if Mako wanted to do it, she would let her.

The cheery brunette cleared her throat, taking a deep breath as she strummed. She kept strumming for a few seconds before singing in her squeaky voice.

"Because you seem feeling down

I've been trying to calm and fade it

But you don't wanna turn around

Teenage is so complicated

Come on, Come on,

Ain't no one who can take your place

oh baby,

Please let me see you smiling."

By this time, the majority of the resturant had averted their gazes to Mako and Ryuko. They were creating a considerable amount of noise, and while it wasn't absolutley beautiful, it certainly wasn't bad, either. Ryuko had begun to smile at her friend, who at this point was sitting down on top of her booth seat back. And although everyone stared at them, they never broke eye contact with each other.

"It's such a pain in the neck we

have homework by tomorrow,

I know you're not a person who

would be worn out with sorrow,

to fly far away from your past is not

so easy,

but dizzy."

Ryuko had begun to clap lightly to the tempo of the song, smiling gingerly at Mako. And after a few seconds, a few others did too. By the time of the chorus, nearly the whole resturaunt clapped along.

"Keep Your Faith, Raise Your Lively Face,

just get rid of your broken wings

you're strong enough by now

I'll be your spark, when you're lost in the dark,

and let me be your sun, be your match to

light your heart up."

Ryuko let out a laugh as Mako kept strumming and singing, obviously delighted by the song. However, a few greaser boys on the other side of the resturaunt seemed more than a bit upset over the noise. One of them, with your standard greaser jacket and haircut, got up.

"Light your heart up

If you want to

Light your heart up-"

Before Mako could make more noise, the boy grabbed the guitar by the neck, cancelling all sound that escaped it.

"Shut the hell up, already!" He yelled, taking the guitar from her hands.

"Hey!" The cheery girl yelled, reaching for it. The boy, more than a bit agitated, struck her across the cheek. Ryuko, who hadn't had time to react before, quickly jumped to her feet.

"Don't you lay a damn finger on her!" She yelled, dashing over and taking his arm. Before he could react, she twisted his arm and bent down hard, breaking it. The boy let out a scream and fell to the ground. The sudden scene of violence shocked the resturaunt goers, especially the boy's friends who had done nothing to stop him. Mako looked down in suprise, holding her now red cheek. She began to speak, but was stopped by the dark haired girl's hand reaching out to her.

"C'mon. let's get outta here." Ryuko said as Mako took her hand. They walked out together, leaving the boy's friends to tend to him. No one tried to stop them. No one dared touch them.

* * *

A few moments later, they were walking down the street, hand in hand as Mako rubbed her cheek.

"Sorry 'bout that asshole." the punk rock girl said, lowly.

"I didn't get to finish my song!" Mako yelled, jumping a bit. Ryuko looked at her with a look of confusion on her face.

"That's what you're worried about, the song?"

"Of course! I mean it fit so well, like uh.. the next part, uh..." Mako began to stuttuer as she recalled the next bit of the song, singing it hurriedly, "But you're gonna beat them all, Loner girl is hard to crumble!"

Ryuko shook her head, chuckling. "You're somethin' else, know that?"

"Ryuko Matoi! Is that you?" A voice called from their left. The girls both turned to see a blonde boy with a black set of clothing approach them . "It is, I thought I saw you!"

"What do you want?" Ryuko asked the boy. His reply was quick and simple.

"To give you this letter!" he said, bowing and holding out a pink envolope with hearts on it. He spoke quickly, as if those words would be the only he could muster before some contraption would sew his mouth shut. And by the looks of it, that was halfway right. He certainly didn't seem like he was going to say anything else. He was sweating profusely, with trembling hands and a face tinted deep red. Matoi took the letter from his hands, looking at it dully.

"Uh, thanks." she said. The boy stood up straight.

"No, thank you for taking it. Please, read all of it." He said, before backing away. "I have to... uh.. be somewhere, so I'll go."

The boy then ran away as quickly as he came. The duo stared at him for a moment, Ryuko sporting dull eyes while Mako's were alive and full of confusion.

"What's in the letter Ryuko? What's in it, what's in it?" she asked, bouncing in place.

"I'm guessin' the damn thing is a love note." she responded, looking it over.

"A LOVE NOTE?!" Mako screeched, eyes wide and a hand over her mouth. Before she could further express her concern, though, a few boys padded up behind them, wearing the same greaser outfits as the other one.

"Think we'd just let you get away with what you did back there?" One of them spoke out, growling between his ever yellowing teeth.

"Do yourself a favor and back off." Ryuko muttered, stuffing her hands into her pockets, along with the alleged love note. Mako whipped hee gaze back and forth between the two teams, mouth still agape.

"See Ryuko! See! I told you the mafia would come to kill us!" She yelled, crossing her arms in an extremley animated fashion. The greasers looked at her like she was the dumbest damn girl on the planet, which may or may not have been entirely true. Ryuko, however, kept an angry gaze, staring directly in front of her, opposite the boys.

"They ain't the mafia, Mako. They're just some kids who like to play dress up with daddy's old high school getup." she said, turning around to them. "And if they know what's good for 'em, they'll turn tail and scram before I beat their faces in."

"Shut the hell up, you fucking cunt!" One of the boys said, specifically the slender, blonde one in the back of the trio. He took a step forward, reaching for her arm. Before her could grab it, however, Ryuko spun around and kicked him in the side of the head, sending him into the wall of the shop they stood beside.

"GOOOOOO RYUKO!" Mako yelled, now holding up a brightly colored sign, which said "Kick their Ass-es!"

The other two boys didn't take kindly to her assault on their friend, charging at her and yelling. Ryuko sighed. If these boys had known the other things she had fought, they wouldn't be trying to touch her or her friends. In one quick motion, she jumped into the air, her hands still in her pockets, and landed on their shoulders after sending a light kick to both of their heads. After she landed, she jumped off, the force of said jump sending them straight down into the sidewalk. She landed behind them, smiling at her quick victory. Afterword, she knelt down next to them as they rubbed their heads, picking them up by the back of their leather jackets.

"Alright, dickheads," Ryuko said, giving an evil smile to them. "If you think about touchin' me or Mako again, I'll make you regret it."

The boys wimpered and looked back to her in fear, nodding understandingly.

"Fuckin'... bitch..." The blonde one said as he rised behind her, pulling a switchblade from his jeans. Before her could send it into Ryuko's neck, however, Mako came out of nowhere with a metal pipe and whacked him across the head with a "HYAH!". He let out a grunt before falling down unconsious, causing Matoi to whip around,

"Jeez, Mako! You tryin' to kill these assholes?"

"He pulled out a knife, which means that I can use deadly force!" Mako said, giggling a little too happily as she watched the boy lay on the ground. Luckily, he probably just had a concussion. Ryuko turned to the other two boys.

"Take your buddy and get the hell outta here."

Boys nodded understandingly, without objection.

* * *

Ryuko and Mako walked down an alleyway. One of many they took every day to get home. Mako skipped along, but Matoi looked into the distance, as if in some kind of deep thought.

"So, Ryuko! Wanna watch a show when we get home?" Mako cried out happily, beaming at her. No response came from her friend, however. "Ryuko?" Mako said again, this time less loud and more inquisitivley. "Are you thinking about Senketsu again?"

Ryuko blinked a few times, looking back to her. "Huh? Oh, no. Actually, I was thinkin' about that note that kid gave me."

The words to describe Mako's face after those words could be narrowed down to devistation or sorrow. She stopped walking, and just stared at her, mouth agape. Ryuko Matoi noticed her gaze, and turned back to her.

"What's up?" She said, leaning against the narrow alley walls. Mako gasped.

"What's... Up? Ryuuuko, you're not really thinking about that, are you?!"

She looked at the utterly destroyed look on her face, giving a chuckle.

"Nono, look, you've got it all..."

Before Ryuko could finish, Mako raised her arms, crossing them in the air as a spotlight shined atop her head.

"Ryuko, no way no way!" She yelled as she darted around the alley, preforming differing poses to meet the context of her words. "No way, not at all! You can't think about that letter, no! Not unless you want to date him! You don't want to do that Ryuko! You don't! You don't even know him! And you're dating me, anyway! That guy has some nerve, giving you a love note on our second date EVER! Unless you wanna replace poor old Mako? Is that what you wanna do Ryuko?"

Ryuko let her halleluja moment pass, smiling softly at the now panting and flustered Mako. A few tears rolled down her face, but if anything they looked more like comical, overexagerated tears than fine, droplets of sadness rolling down her cheeks.

"Hey, Mako. Chill out." Ryuko said, stepping over to her. "I love ya. And you're right. I ain't goin' out with some dude I don't even know. Why would I when I'm already spoken for?"

The cheery girl stood straight up as she approached, soon both of them standing so close they could feel each other's warm breath tingle on their cheeks. Mako still wore a saddened, yet comically wavy face, with glistening, teary eyes.

"You mean it?" She said, asking like a little girl who couldn't believe her mother would buy her the candy bar she wanted.

"Mhm." Ryuko said softly, smiling. Mako, nodded, sniffling and wiping away her tears. The punk rock girl sighed.

"C'mon, Mako..." She muttered, placing a hand on the alley wall, just beside her head. "What was that thing you said earlier?"

The cheery girl looked up at her, still with a pouting expression. "Which thing?"

Ryuko searched her mind for the right words, biting her lip not in ectstasy, but moreover in nervous thought. After a moment of thinking, she smiled, having remembered the words. She took a breath, humming for a moment before singing in a somewhat crude voice,

"Keep Your Faith, Raise Your Lively Face..." she sang, looking deep into her eyes. "Somethin'... broken wings... flyyy..."

Mako, as she sang, slowly turned her expression from that of quirky sadness to her usual, cheery one, wiping away most of her tears. She giggled lowly, poking her nose.

"Okie!" She said, tilting her head.

In a split second, Matoi grabbed her chin gently, pulling it toward hers as their lips met. Mako practically went limp as a warm, tingling sensation spread through her whole body, making her shiver with delight. She leaned into the kiss for what seemed like an eternity before Ryuko broke it, smiling at her. Mako's heart practically melted at her treatment. She giggled a bit dumbstruck, hugging her tightly.

"I love you, Ryuko." She said, beaming from ear to ear.

"Love ya too, Mako." She responded, rubbing her head. "C'mon, let's get home."

"Yes Ma'am!" The cheery brunette said, letting go of her dark haired lover, taking her hand as they shared one last gaze, striding down the alleyway.

"I guess I should at least read this thing, since I'll be the one turnin' him down."

"What?! No, you should burn it!"

"That's just rude, Mako."

"It's rude to confess your love to someone's girlfriend!"

* * *

 **Welp, That was my first ever oneshot. Sorry if it was a bit disappointing. It wasn't really meant to have a big plot-line, or be over emotional. But hey, it was fun to write. Please, I'm doing this to improve my writing, so no matter what your opinion is, please post a review of the story.**

 **And for those who want more of my Lapidot fanfic, be a bit patient. I've decided to go on hiatus with that because of the new Steven Bomb. I want to see those, to get an even better understanding of Lapis' personality before I continue writing about her. Thank you all, and bai baii!**


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